One Disease Process

You have been told that you have a specific disease. Does having a name (diagnosis) of the disease decide the treatment that you will now undertake?

Is the treatment recommended one that will manage the disease or restore you to your former health?

Is it possible that you may require an individualized approach given that you have a:

1. unique genetic structure and genetic susceptibilities 2. unique microbiome (gut organisms) 3. unique nutritional requirement 4. unique personality (how you deal with stress) 5. disease that is the end product of a process (understand that how you developed the disease is
different from one person to another)

Does having a diagnosis indicate what factors lead to the development of your disease in order to identify and stop the process from continuing? Of course not.

Is it possible that one homeopathic medicine along with a whole food plan tailored to each individual could treat someone with multiple diseases occurring? Yes!

One body, One Physiology, One Disease Process

Most of us know when our body is functioning relatively normal. When there is a change (altered sensations, feeling and functions) we notice that this is somehow different from how we normally feel. When we are stressed whether mentally, emotionally or physically symptoms often appear. It could be in the form of a headache, insomnia, indigestion and these symptoms often disappear when the stressor(s) is no longer present. However, when these symptoms persist, it indicates that our physiology is having problems adapting to the stress placed on our system as a whole.

If the symptoms continue, often over the counter medications may be taken or you visit your family doctor and you may be given a prescription. The symptoms improve, but without removing the cause, the altered physiology continues. Over time, new symptoms develop and require attention.

The issue is that over time as our normal physiology is altered, changes take place in our cells, tissues, organs and other body systems leading to the evolution of a disease process. As the disease process moves into different areas of the body, it may expressed on the skin as eczema, later moving to the lungs as asthma and chronic reoccurring upper respiratory infections for example. The disease process will express itself in areas of the body that we are genetically susceptible to. Our bodies are not broken down into ‘specialties’ and although conventional medicine treats each named disease as such, in reality, every altered cell, tissue, organ and system is connected to and influencing other parts of the body as well.

How each person develops a disease is different for each individual. Because our genes, microbiome, personalities, dietary intakes and the environment we live in are all different, any one of these factors or combination can be a driving force in the disease process. We all have a story of when the symptoms first came on, and when the disease was finally diagnosed. Of equal importance are the events that may have occurred during the time (or just before) we first noticed changes in how we were feeling on several levels. Was there stress at work, at home, or a loss of loved ones? Were you not getting enough sleep, eating poorly, worried about family members and their health? Each person has their own history and events that gradually led to a weakening of their mind and body and the subsequent illness that ensued.

The food choices we make every day can alter our health dramatically.The type of gut bacteria that grow in our intestines is determined by the food we eat because we feed them as well. The gut bacteria produce 80% of our neurotransmitters – these influence how we feel, (depression, anxiety, mood swings), they help regulate our immune system, they help digest food and also produce some vitamins. Our body is an ecological system with our microbiome as a partner.

Primary research (medical studies that focus on the understanding of how any one disease develops) in the last 10-15 years show the evolution of different diseases flowing into one another and how they are interrelated through the influences of dietary, microbial, genetic and stress related changes creating inflammatory and subsequent tissue and organ damage.

It is really one disease process that is directed towards different tissues, organs and systems depending on genetic susceptibilities and our lifestyle.

In order to restore health, all the factors and influences leading to the development of the disease process must be recognized and addressed. Only then can a comprehensive approach that treats the whole person be implemented.